Stanley Cup Final Has Best Audience Since '94; Playoffs Overall Best Since '97

The six games of the Blackhawks-Bruins NHL Stanley Cup Final averaged a 3.3 final rating and 5.8 million viewers across NBC and NBC Sports Network, marking the most-watched Final since at least ’94. The six games, three of which went to OT, were also up 83% and 91%, respectively, from a 1.8 rating and 3.0 million viewers for the six-game Kings-Devils series last year. For 84 telecasts across NBC, NBCSN and CNBC, the NHL Playoffs averaged 1.5 million viewers, marking the most-viewed postseason since ESPN, ESPN2 and Fox averaged 1.5 million viewers in ’97. The ’13 postseason also is up 18% from last year. NBCSN had three of its five most-viewed NHL telecasts ever during the ’13 playoffs, including its two games during the Final. The markets of Boston, Detroit, L.A., Minneapolis, N.Y. and Pittsburgh each posted record ratings on NBC or NBCSN during the Playoffs.

CLINCHER: Monday night’s clinching Game 6 on NBC finished with a 4.7 rating and 8.2 million viewers, marking the second-best Game 6 viewership since ’94. The audience also marked NBC's third-best NHL game audience since it acquired TV rights prior to the '05-06 season. NBC finished second in primetime on Monday behind Game 6, with CBS winning the night behind the premiere of "Under the Dome." In Canada, another 3.4 million viewers watched Game 6 on the CBC. Across all of North America, Game 6 was watched by 12.3 million viewers across the CBC, NBC and French-language RDS in Canada.